A Gift Is Worth 1,000 Words
by xrosepetalx
Summary: A collection of Christmas fics for my friends, each exactly 1,000 words.
1. Figure Eight

**Figure Eight**

_Merry Christmas Fray._

Severus looked through the window, happiness filling his body from his toes to his ears. White snowflakes covered the grounds, as thick and ethereal as clouds floating through the heavens. Shades of purple and pink streaked across the ground, reflecting the sunrise in all its beauty. The trees stood dark against the sky, bare of their leaves and more striking for it. It was like a fairytale land.

He had been woken from sleep so early this morning by a draft coming through the window. The Slytherin dormitories were not known for being warm and cozy in the best of times and the middle of winter definitely did not make for ideal conditions underground. Severus had never minded the cold; he actually quite enjoyed the way it bit at his skin. It was refreshing, in a way.

Nonetheless, Severus still put on scarf, hat, and gloves before going outside; he wasn't stupid. Even though Madam Pomfrey could easily fix frostbite, it still wasn't fun feeling like your fingers were going to fall off. Severus grimaced as he recalled one winter when his fingers actually _had_ fallen off. That was _not_ fun.

He ran down the corridor, quick as a cat and just as quiet. Sprinting through the Entrance Hall, Severus threw the front doors open and gasped. The snow covered everything on the grounds, from the treetops of the Forest to the roof of the gamekeeper's hut. It was untouched, beautiful.

Severus picked his way through the snow, finding the spot where they always sat together by the lake. How he could tell through two feet of snow, who knew. But he was sure that that was the spot. He settled in and gazed across the surface of the water, iced over so smoothly you could mistake it for glass.

Inspiration struck Severus like lightning. He took out his wand and summoned a pair of ice skates that were hidden deep in his trunk. They zoomed towards him, stopping inches from his nose. The skates floated in the air, clacking together as Severus contemplated them. They dropped into his hands, blades sparkling in the winter sun. Severus slipped them on, stood up, and glided away.

He did a few circles to warm-up; he hadn't skated since fourth year and didn't want to fall because he didn't have a little refresher course. Once his brain was sufficiently jumpstarted, Severus got fancy. He did loops and figure eights; he even threw in a few jumps because he was just that happy to be back on the ice.

He went on for a while, not noticing that he had a spectator. After all, nearly everyone had left for the holidays, and he wasn't expecting anyone this early in the morning. And yet there was someone. He couldn't tell who it was from this far out; all he saw was that this person was most likely a girl, based on her slim figure. The fact that she was wearing a skirt also made him lean towards this mystery person being a girl, unless Black had been drinking too much Firewhiskey again…

Severus skated over to the girl, seeing her Gryffindor red scarf and hair to match…He froze. Why was she here? It had been almost six months since they had last spoken, and that memory alone sapped Severus of the joy he had been feeling since sunrise. _How could he have been so stupid?_

"Sev?" She said breathlessly, eyes sparkling. He loathed how at one word she could make his heart melt. He looked away from the face that broke his heart, choosing instead to look at what she had in her hands…a pair of ice skates.

"Don't stop," she softly exclaimed. He glanced up again, seeing his confusion reflected in her eyes. "I can come back later."

Severus's heart broke again as she turned away and walked from him and the lake where they had fallen in love. He waited for her to look back, but she didn't. Well, if she wouldn't willingly…

"Lily!" He called, his voice strong for once in his life. She whipped her head around, hair flying all over like some horrible cliché. He kicked his skates off, and, not caring that his socks were getting snow in them and his toes would get frostbite, hurried over to her. He caught her hands and pulled them to his chest, wanting her to feel his heartbeat. _It is still there, even after what you did to it._ She looked up into his face, their eyes locking together in a fierce gaze that Severus never wanted to end.

"One last time," he requested of her. "Just one last time, for our memories."

She broke the stare and looked at the lake. It was still perfect in spite of the marks all over it. They made it seem more real. Lily's breath caught in her throat, just like Severus's had when he had first laid eyes on perfection. She peeked back at his face, studying it intently as she decided what to do. Severus prayed that she would say yes, even though reason told him that she had no reason to stay.

Severus had about given up on her answer when she answered with a simple, "Okay."

He was floored at her willingness to spend time with him again. They hadn't gone ice-skating together in two years, not since they were children. They had grown now, but they still enjoyed the same pastimes.

Severus led Lily over to the Lake, guiding her to their spot on the edge. They sat down and slipped on their skates. _All right, Miss Evans_, Severus thought to himself, _let's see if you remember anything_.

She glided a few feet out, circling just as Severus had done to prepare for the big stuff. She was as fast as ever, circling at a speed that made Severus dizzy. After, he grabbed her hand, and together they did a figure eight.


	2. Jingle Bells

**Jingle Bells**

_Merry Christmas __Lexie._

As December had come upon them, the Potters were delirious, filling the house with Christmas cheer. James and Lily were like any parents, wanting the first time of everything that happened to their son to be perfect, even though he most likely wouldn't remember it.

When you walked into the Potters' living room, it was like the holiday spirit had exploded, leaving everything covered in red, green, silver, and gold. The whole house was sparkling clean in preparation for the special day, and, unbeknownst to Harry, there was a whole mound of presents for him tucked away in the basement, just waiting for that special day. However, as James had looked through them, not all of them seemed to be from James and Lily…

"Lily, darling," James had called from the basement, "who is this 'Santa Claus' person?"

Lily had rolled her eyes at her husband's obliviousness, before explaining everything she knew about Santa Claus. She told him how Santa came every year and brought gifts for Muggle children who had been good all year and how he brought coal for the naughty ones. James had laughed in his mind as she had explained about how Santa had elves who worked all year, making toys for the children. _Is she saying that this Claus guy has hundreds of house-elves at his com__mand? They can__'__t survive in the tundra!_ However, she did catch his attention when she talked about the reindeer. Imagine! Deer that can fly! _It would be so cool to fly__…_

"James?!"

James blinked at his wife, wondering what had given him away that he hadn't been listening to a word that she said.

"Are you even listening to me? No, of course you aren't because you have this blank look on your face, except for your eyes, which of course alert me to the fact that you are planning some mischief."

_Oh. I gues__s that__'__s what gave it away._ "But Lily-flower! Of course I was listening to you! And I am offended that you would think that I would just sit here and indulge you while not actually listening!" James made sure to make his eyes as big as saucers and stick out his lower lip as far as it could go. She could never win against The Lip.

"Okay, and I am supposed to believe that you are pouting at me because of this? Uh-uh, James. You only do that when you are trying to hide something from me." She paused, studying him for clues as to what it might be. "However, since it is almost Christmas, I am going to be the better person and trust that you will tell me eventually."

Lily got up, picked up Harry, and walked out of the room, cooing to the baby about something or other. James didn't pay attention, a plan already forming in his brain for the perfect Christmas present for them. But he would need some help.

He walked over to the fireplace, grabbed some Floo powder, and stepped into the grate.

"Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place!"

-:-

It had been two weeks since that conversation, and Christmas Eve had arrived. The Marauders had stopped by, filling the night with jokes and laughter. Lily had noticed that Sirius and James had exchanged a little non-verbal communication just before he left, but Lily didn't dwell. Instead, she took Harry upstairs to tuck into bed, leaving James to clean up the mess that the Marauders had made.

After making sure that Harry was snuggled safe under the covers, Lily changed into her nightgown and crawled into her own bed. James came up a few minutes later, pecking her on the cheek as he curled up next to her. He had put Harry's presents under the tree before coming up and now they just had to wait 'til morning for their son's first Christmas to come.

-:-

_Taptaptap_

Lily awoke, looking to the annoying sound that had disrupted her sleep. It was an owl. _Who in their right bloody minds would owl at this time of night?_ Lily looked at the owl, realizing it was Bacchus, James's owl, which was requesting entry.

She stood, grumbling about her bloody husband waking her up at bloody midnight with his bloody owl, and opened the window. Bacchus hopped onto the sill, hooted softly as Lily removed the note, and flew out into the night. Lily unrolled the little scroll, surprised to find Sirius's handwriting.

_Lily, change into some warm clothes and bring Harry to the roof. James has a surprise for you._

_-Sirius_

After performing a quick spell to check that it was really Sirius (they were in the middle of a war after all), Lily changed, grabbed Harry, and with him climbed onto the roof. What was there was so amazing that Lily just stood there in shock.

There was a red sleigh sitting on the roof, being pulled by a single deer. What shocked Lily even more was the fact that there was a fat man with a white beard and a red coat sitting in the front of the sleigh. When he looked at Lily and Harry, Lily saw that it wasn't Father Christmas, but Sirius, smiling at her dumbfounded expression. If that was Sirius, then where was James? The deer looked over, stomping his hoof in impatience. _Of course_. James would think of something like this. This was what he and Sirius had been planning.

Lily walked over to where Sirius had gotten out of the sleigh. "Ho ho ho! Has little Harry been good this year?" He said, eyes sparkling with suppressed mirth.

"Why, yes he has, despite the influence of you two," Lily replied, eying Sirius and the reindeer.

Sirius coughed. "Would you two like a ride in my sleigh for being so good this year?"

Lily nodded, climbing into the red sleigh. And they took off, Harry's giggles resounding through the air as the bells on Prongs's harness jingled.


End file.
